Martha entered Target (pronounced Tar-shay) in Los Angeles, her favorite French store, during store hours. While she was there, a mob of twenty to thirty youths stormed through the store and began to steal as much property as possible. Martha decided to grab clothes, a new cell phone, a leather purse, two pairs of shoes, and a laptop. She ran out of the store during the chaos with all these items past the last point of sell. An employee got in her way so she pushed him to the ground, ran out of the store, and loaded the stolen property in her car. As she attempted to drive away, the police stopped her and other random people asking for receipts of purchase. She had no receipt and admitted to taking the property, which was valued at over $3,000. Martha was arrested.

Question

What crime(s) did she commit?

a
Grand larceny
b
Burglary
c
Battery
d
Assault
e
Robbery

Answer 1

Martha committed several crimes during the incident described. The primary ones are:

a. Grand larceny - This applies because she stole property valued over a certain amount (in many jurisdictions, over $1,000), and it appears the total value of the items she took is over $3,000.

c. Battery - She pushed an employee to the ground, which constitutes physical contact and is classified as battery.

e. Robbery - Although there’s no indication that she used or threatened to use force to take property directly from another person, the act of stealing during a chaotic situation can be interpreted as robbery, especially if it can be shown she intended to take property from the store by circumventing the means of sale.

Based on the facts presented, the most appropriate answers are a (Grand larceny) and c (Battery). Depending on jurisdiction and specific circumstances, e (Robbery) could also apply, but it is less clear without the direct threat or force against customers or the store itself.